In the case Heart of Atlanta Motelv. United States (1964), the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the power under the commerce clause to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Which of the following explains how this case is similar to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)? A Both cases challenged the authority of Congress to pass legislation that addressed local segregation. B Both cases upheld the power of the federal government to ensure equal protection under the law. C Both cases decided that actions taken by the president to end segregation were unconstitutional. D ) Both cases were about the application of the Thirteenth Amendment to the states.

## Step 1
The problem is asking us to identify the similarity between two Supreme Court cases: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964) and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954).

## Step 2
The first step is to understand the context of each case. The Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States case was about the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was passed by Congress to end racial segregation in public places. The Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the power under the commerce clause to pass this act.

## Step 3
The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case was about the constitutionality of racial segregation in public schools. The Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

## Step 4
Now, we need to compare the two cases and find the commonality. The commonality between these two cases is that both upheld the power of the federal government to ensure equal protection under the law.